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Animal Cognition (2020) 23:755–768
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01387-y
ORIGINAL PAPER
The development ofproblem‑solving abilities inapopulation
ofcandidate detection dogs (Canis familiaris)
LuciaLazarowski1· SarahKrichbaum2· L.PaulWaggoner1· JereyS.Katz2
Received: 6 January 2020 / Revised: 24 March 2020 / Accepted: 17 April 2020 / Published online: 24 April 2020
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
Both ontogenetic and phylogenetic factors have shaped dogs’ cognitive capabilities, resulting in a heightened social sensitivity
at the apparent cost of non-social problem-solving abilities. Research has suggested that training history and life experience
can influence problem-solving abilities in dogs. However, the ontogenetic development of problem-solving abilities in dogs
has been less explored. We tested a population of candidate detection dogs of various ages across the first year of development
on four well-established problem-solving tasks targeting different cognitive domains (i.e., cylinder, A-not-B barrier, delayed
search, and spatial transposition tasks). We examined developmental effects by comparing cognitive task performance across
three age groups. Age-related improvements for all four cognitive measures indicate developmental increases in processes
related to inhibitory control, attention, and spatial cognition between 3 and 12months of age. Additionally, we found some
relationships between cognitive measures and detection dog performance measures, though effects were not as robust. We
discuss the results in the context of canine cognitive development and corresponding effects of phylogeny and ontogeny, as
well as potential applications to working dog training and selection.
Keywords Canine cognition· Problem solving· Detection dogs
Introduction
Dogs exhibit remarkable socio-cognitive abilities similar
to those appearing early in human development (MacLean
etal. 2017), but appear to be comparatively deficient or at
least non-exceptional in cognitive skills outside of the social
domain (Lea and Osthaus 2018). While a combination of
genetic and behavioral selection favoring adaptation to life
with humans likely led to enhanced socio-cognitive skills in
dogs, physical problem-solving abilities may be stunted due
to a buffering effect of human provision (Bräuer etal. 2006;
Lampe etal. 2017).
Evidence suggests that reduced physical problem-solving
abilities may be an artifact of domestication, due to relaxed
ecological pressures stemming from an increasing reliance
on humans (Bräuer etal. 2006). Comparative differences
between wolves and dogs have been reported in tasks of
causal inference (Lampe etal. 2017), independent problem-
solving (Brubaker etal. 2017; Lazzaroni etal. 2019; Mar-
shall-Pescini etal. 2017a, b; Udell 2015), and self-regulation
(Marshall-Pescini etal. 2015). Species differences in these
abilities have been attributed to socio-behavioral ecologies
(Maclean etal. 2014; Marshall-Pescini etal. 2015), selection
for tamer temperaments during domestication (Marshall-
Pescini etal. 2015), post-domestication artificial selection
for specific temperament profiles (Bray etal. 2015; MacLean
etal. 2017), motivational variables (Brucks etal. 2019; Laz-
zaroni etal. 2019; Marshall-Pescini etal. 2017a, b), and
biases towards humans that interfere with performance
(Erdohegyi etal. 2007; Gagnon and Doré 1994; Miller etal.
2009; Topál etal. 2009). Other studies have reported that
dogs’ and wolves’ understanding of object permanence is
equally limited compared to great apes, and point to ecologi-
cal factors common to the canid evolutionary history rather
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this
article (https ://doi.org/10.1007/s1007 1-020-01387 -y) contains
supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Lucia Lazarowski
lucia.lazarowski@auburn.edu
1 Canine Performance Sciences, College ofVeterinary
Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
2 Department ofPsychological Sciences, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL, USA
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